Wringer



B. S. McCUTCHEN.

WRINGER.

APPLICATION 'HLED OCT. 8, I920.

99 304 Patented D60. 6, 1921.

awue/wioc UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

WRINGER.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Dec. 6,1921.

Application filed October a, 1920. Serial No. 415,496.

T 0 all whom it may concern Be it known that BRUNSON S. MoCU'roHnN, a citizen of the United States of America, residing at Plainfield, in the county of Union and State of New Jersey, has invented certain new and useful Improvements in WVringers, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to power wringers for washing machines and more particularly to the manner of mounting the compression roll springs.

Heretofore the helical springs used in power wringers have been put into the" Wringer free, that is with no initial compression. WVhen the wringer is to be used, these springsare compressed by means of one or more compression screws until their initial compression amounts to the desired value, which in the case of wringers using two such springs, is from one hundred and fifty to two hundred pounds per spring. In acquiring this initial compression, the spring is compressed until it is about one inch shorter than its free length. Now a spring increases in pressure almost in direct ratio to its decrease in length. Accordingly, if some thick object, say half an inch thick be placed between the rolls of a wringer using such a set of springs, the length of each spring will be decreased one half an inch, and the pressure increased about one hundred pounds. The result of this increase in pressure is to overload the mechanism, and either blow the fuse, or burn out the motor. If a much longer spring could be used, say a spring which had to be compressed four inches to give it a working pressure of two hundred pounds, it will be seen that the increase in pressure of such a spring is only fifty pounds for every inch its length is shortened, and consequently, a further shortening of the spring 0 one half inch, due to the presence of some thick object between the rolls, would only increase the working pressure by twenty five pounds, and such an increase would not do any harm to the mechanism. Such a long spring could not be used to advantage in the ordinary wringer, as it would greatly increase the height of the frame.

My invention has for its object to avoid these objections.

In the accompanying drawings forming tively. Suitably mounted for vertical movement in the side bars 6 and 7 are bearing blocks 10 and 10' in which the upper pressure roll 11 is mounted.

.Arranged below the roll 11 is the lower pressure roll 11, which also has suitable bearings (not shown) in the side bars.

Resting upon the bearing blocks 10 and 10 and also slidably mounted in the side bars are a pair of preferably tubular housings 11 and 11 which contain helical springs 12 and 12 respectively of considerably greater length than the housings when not under compression. These springsare loaded into the housings when the wringer is assembled, that is, they are first compressed to the desired length or compression and held down in such compressed condition by means of the equalizing bar 13, the ends of which pass through slots 14 and 14, formed in the housings for this purpose, and rest upon the upper ends of the springs. Bolts 15 and 15 passing transversely through the upper portions of the housings limit the upward movement of the equalizing bar.

A centrally disposed compression screw 16 screws through the top bar 8 of the wringer frame and bears-at its lower end upon the equalizing bar 13 which in turn distributes the pressure to the two springs. Consequently when the screw 16 is screwed home, the compression of the springs is borne by the bar and through the'bar 13 transmitted to the compression springs, the pressure on the bolts 15 and 15 of course being relieved. However in actual practies the springs will be compressed during the loading process to such an extent that further compression will not be required to obtain'the proper working pressure between the rolls and it will then only be desirable but not necessary to screw down the compression screw until the bolts 15 and 15 have been relieved of some of the strain. This however, does not necessarily compress or shorten thesprings.

Assuming then that the relatively long springs 12 and 12' have been suitably compressed before being loaded into their housings, in the event some abnormally thick material is fed between the rolls, the s ring casings will be forced upwardly an the springs will be compressed owing to the relative movement between the spring cas ings or housings and the equalizing bar 13. However the increase in pressure thus caused by the further shortening of the springs will as explained hereinbefore, be only a small fraction of the initial pressure of the springs.

Having thus described my invention:

What I claim is:

l. A clothes wringer comprising a frame having upper and lower pressure rolls and bearing blocks therefor, slotted spring housings vertically slidable in said frame and bearing at their lower ends against the bearing blocks of said upper roll, helical springs in said housings, a bar having its ends slidably mounted in the slots of said housings and bearing upon the upper ends of said springs, and a compression screw threaded through said frame and bearing upon said bar.

2. A clothes wringer comprising a frame having pressure rolls and bearing blocks therefor, spring housings bearing against the bearing blocks of one of said rolls, compressed coil springs in said housings, an equalizer bar slidable in and spanning said housings and bearing at each of its ends against one end of one of said springs, and a pressure screw passing through said frame and bearing against said equalizer bar.

'BRUNSON S. M CUTC'HEN. 

